Campus Champion

Two years ago, senior biology major Kaleb Frierson read about the impact climate change has on humans and focused his career goals on public health. “Ultimately I want to be an emergency physician at a hospital where I can teach, research and practice medicine.” He’s well on his way — in 2022 he earned Outstanding Undergraduate Research in Biological Sciences, received a summer research fellowship and serves as a teaching assistant and supplemental instructor. A presenter and a published author, teaching enables Kaleb to reflect on his own understanding. The SUNY Cortland Emergency Medical Services club president also manages to be a full-time EMT for Skaneateles/Marcellus Ambulance. An amazing resume of leadership, service, honors and fellowships ensures a bright future for this Campus Champion.

Craig Foster doesn’t mean to step on Bigfoot’s mythical toes but, in a world of instant information and dangerous data, he thinks it’s important to develop skills that allow you to determine fact from fiction. 

That’s why Foster, chair of SUNY Cortland’s Psychology Department, recently critiqued Bigfoot believers in an editorial on Syracuse.com — and it’s why his students have helped write columns for a national skeptic magazine. It’s part of the Psychology of Pseudoscience, a class he taught last spring semester and hopes to make a permanent part of the curriculum.

“I knew I wanted to teach this class when I was hired by SUNY Cortland to chair the Psychology Department in 2020,” Foster said. “I am grateful that my department and my dean (R. Bruce Mattingly, dean of arts and sciences) have been supportive. The goal of the class is to teach students to identify common tactics used to promote pseudoscience.”  

Foster noted that social psychology examines how situations influence human thought, emotion and behavior. Likewise, social influence can cause reasonable, intelligent people to believe in pseudoscience — which is why he feels it is important for students to improve their critical thinking and avoid falling for current or future falsehoods.

And Bigfoot? Foster says the Syracuse.com editorial introduced ideas of critical thinking to readers by discussing a subject with less emotional baggage than other, more polarizing, issues. 

“The editorial was an opportunity to remind readers that sensational claims are ubiquitous, and people should stay in the habit of considering these claims skeptically. The human habits that allow these claims to persist can cause serious harm. We will enhance well-being broadly if we can teach people how to be more effective in processing information.” 

As a class assignment, Foster’s 15 students helped write an ongoing column for the Skeptical Inquirer, a bimonthly national magazine in circulation since 1976. It focuses on challenging unproven concepts that are accepted as fact by many. Foster wrote the first of the columns, to be published in the January/February 2023 issue, and the class’s contributions will be seen in subsequent editions.  

Another goal of the class according to Foster, is to directly address current forms of pseudoscience. 

“It seems to me that educated citizens eager to make the world a better place should understand these issues,” Foster said. “One benefit of studying pseudoscience is that it is fundamentally apolitical. If a claim can be construed as pseudoscientific, we can study it, regardless of whether the claim is favored by the political left or the political right.” 

After reviewing some general psychological processes, students studied the flat Earth model. Foster said that's a good starting point because most people believe the Earth is round. They went on to cover topics that ranged from creationism, climate change denial and the anti-vaccination movement to cryptozoology (the study of legendary animals), psychic abilities, conversion therapy, astrology and ghosts. 

Over time, Foster hopes the critical thinking encouraged in class helps students tackle the all-too real problems the world has to reckon with. 

“In my opinion, the biggest area for alarm is climate change denial,” Foster said. “Societies respond slowly to vague threats that develop incrementally. It is too easy for people to push the problem onto future generations because we don’t want to fully address the problem now. It’s really unfortunate. Anti-vaccination and election fraud are also obvious areas of concern.” 

Of course, there are some areas of pseudoscience Foster is willing to let slide, for obvious reasons. 

“I could also include dragons as a fascinating form of cryptozoology, but dragons are most definitely real,” he said. “I see amazing Red Dragons every time I go to work.”

———

Top image: A frame from the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, which purports to show live footage of Bigfoot.

SUNY Cortland students, the campus community and the public will get a rare opportunity to help shape a new musical loosely based on a macabre, centuries-old Scottish ballad involving a murder between sisters, a harp fashioned from the victim's bones and a ghostly reckoning.

That future musical, “The Bone Harp,” is currently being fine-tuned for its formal professional premiere.

CreateTheater’s Professional College Musical Theatre Partnership has teamed up with SUNY Cortland’s Performing Arts Department to present two staged readings of the heavily revised script for the musical — called a libretto — that originated several years ago in Chicago.

“The idea is when you do a developmental reading, the focus of the project is on giving the writers an opportunity to see how the material plays out, the text and the music and the lyrics,” said Kevin Halpin, professor of performing arts and director of the upcoming prototype production at Cortland.

The two performances of “The Bone Harp,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Both performances of “The Bone Harp” are free and open to the public. To reserve tickets for the musical read-through in the Dowd Fine Arts Center, RSVP to performingartsdepartment@cortland.edu.

After each performance, the audience will be invited to do a ‘Talk Back’ session with the cast and writers.

“I would really love it to be that broad range of campus and community members,” Halpin said. “The broader an audience it is, the more helpful it will be to the writers to hear what the responses are.”

Halpin captured a video clip of one performer, junior BFA musical theatre major Aria Odendaal of Tewskbury, N.J., singing the musical’s song “If You Want to Live,” as well as an interview with the creative team, that appeared Dec. 6 on the Bridge Street morning TV show, as may be viewed here.

CreateTheater has been helping writers develop and produce their work since the company was launched in 2016 by Cate Cammarata, an Off-Broadway producer, director and dramaturg. During the pandemic shutdown of 2020-2022, CreateTheater developed or produced more than 70 shows with online readings, workshops and dramaturgical guidance. For her work, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) honored Cammarata with the TRU Entrepreneur of the Year award earlier this year.

The audience should expect that the cast will perform their staged reading seated or beside a score or script stand with minimal costume and set.

“Essentially, it’s singing and reading the script so the writers can see if it’s doing what the authors would want,” Halpin said of the musical, scripted by Chicago-based writer and lyricist Laura Stratford with music by Heidi Joosten. “Sometimes the production values can mask something in the show that’s not really working right. If we do our job right, it will still be an engaging, effective performance of this piece.”

The script has evolved far from the 15th century Scottish ballad that tells of a traveling troubadour who finds a beautiful, drowned woman and creates a harp from her bones. The supernatural harp then performs a telltale song about a woman who was murdered by a jealous older sister.

Two staged readings occurred in Chicago.

“Over the pandemic, the writers went back to the script and started to develop ideas and questions of social justice that came up: the nature of how we respond to difficulties or acts of violence, and what the response is moving forward and how it affects a whole community,” Halpin said.

The producer, Cammarata, reached out to Cortland’s Performing Arts Department. Cammarata had previously visited the campus to help SUNY Cortland develop and critique its new Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre major, which graduates its first full four-year BFA class this spring.

When CreateTheater made a call for new musicals, Cammarata received roughly 100 submissions and worked with SUNY Cortland’s Performing Arts Department to narrow the choices down to 10, from which department faculty chose “The Bone Harp.”

“We have in the past done new works, new readings,” Halpin said. “But we have not been involved with this producer. CreateTheater Professional College Musical Theatre Partnership is a brand-new entity and this is our first production in that partnership. We hope to continue it annually.”

The collaboration resulted in many changes to the production including the addition of two new songs before the cast began rehearsing the week of Nov. 14.

“Through all of this, the students have been part of this process,” Halpin said. “One of the great things about doing this work is it’s an opportunity for these young actors to be actually part of the development process of a new work and have an impact on how the piece moves forward.”

This also is the department’s first time working with the production’s musical director, Jeff Cox.

“He’s very smart about musical theater, about how the music is part of the storytelling,” Halpin said. “He’s been great with the cast, with the students, helping them learn it.”

“I’ve never worked on developing a musical that hasn’t been done before for an audience,” said Odendaal, who played a lead role of “Sandra” in last year’s SUNY Cortland production of “Big Fish” and will portray the lead role of “Jenny Allen” in “The Bone Harp.”

“That’s been a really cool experience, getting to work with the people who wrote the musical,” Odendaal said. “Every day at rehearsal we’re getting new pages of the script and different music. That is exciting, being part of the process of developing the character.”

“I’m really interested in the writing, because this is a musical that’s very much still in development,” said senior BFA musical theatre major Lauren Cochran of Staten Island, N.Y., who will take the second leading role of “Jessa Allen.”

“There will be one public production on Friday, and the writers will be here to rewrite it afterward,” Cochran said. “Then we will have to pick up on it for the production the very next day, Saturday. The writers will give us any rewrite, we will rehearse it that day and perform it again on Sunday with any changes.”

The remaining cast includes: Dominic Green as “John Allen” and Adriana Kabat as “Jane Allen”; cast as ghosts are Justin Waite, Kaylee West, Kara Vito and Devin Bethards; cast as villagers/ensemble are Olivia Goodman, Harry Sperduto, Nellie Cotrupe, Annie Ross and Louis Bianco. Waite, Vito, Goodman, Sperduto, Cotrupe, Ross and Bianco all have additional, understudy roles.

Graduating Art and Art History Department seniors at SUNY Cortland always put their very best portfolio work on display during their thesis exhibition.

Two graduating Art Studio: Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) majors — Lindsey Richards of Liverpool, N.Y., and Jacob Robinson of Seneca Falls, N.Y. — will share exhibition space as they put their final projects of abstract paintings on canvas and monochromatic drawings on paper in the university’s Dowd Gallery in Dowd Fine Arts Center. The exhibit will run from Thursday, Dec. 8, to Friday, Dec. 16.

An opening reception, followed by oral defenses, is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 9, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Dowd Gallery, Dowd Fine Art Center on the corner of Graham Avenue and Prospect Terrace.

The audience, along with BFA committee members comprised of Art and Art History Department faculty, will have a chance to interact and direct questions to the candidates after their presentation.

The gallery exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, the gallery will be open to visitors on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, from 1 to 4 p.m.

A virtual tour, recorded talks and exhibition slide show will be accessible on the Dowd Gallery’s website and social media at the end of December.

The displayed final collection of artworks, writing and oral presentations but the graduating seniors fulfill the year-long thesis requirement in their designated programs. 

Painter Richards and graphic designer Robinson will showcase thesis projects concluding their B.F.A. studies. Robinson also is a dual major in new communication media who will complete a minor in graphic design and digital media.

Lindsey Richards 

Richards will present her thesis exhibition, “Time Is Out of Joint,” showcasing a collection of abstract paintings on canvas produced over an extended period.

In her exhibition, the artist navigates and reconciles the fears that come with mortality, pointing to a shared reality aligned with the universal struggle through life.

“Richards creates a body of work that hints at the blank ‘abyss’ always lurking in our vibrant surroundings,” said Gallery Director Jaroslava Prihodova. “The premise for her paintings centers around a reminder that human life, as well as the environment, is impermanent. With influence from historically significant thinkers, classic stories, existentialist philosophers and her love of cinema, Richards creates a haunting essence of landscapes that reveals the awareness of one’s place in time.”

Richards’ past works were included in several annual Student Select exhibitions sponsored by the Art Exhibition Association. Most recently, she received the Muriel and Newell Keegan Prize for Excellence in Studio Art.

A four-season SUNY Cortland varsity softball team member from 2019-2022, she was honored as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete.

Jake Robinson

Robinson’s exhibition, titled “In Tongues,” will debut his thesis series of large- and small-scale drawings, sound poems and process video pieces that are intended to engage the viewer with theories in structural anthropology, Jungian psychology and general Eastern philosophy.

According to Robinson, the immediacy of drawing with a stick of charcoal allows for the reliable yet tasteful visualization of thought and its changing form captured on paper, generating novel expressions.

The body of Robinson’s work explores the deconstruction of writing and speech under the contemporary movement of Asemic Art, which was inspired by Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Primitivism.

“Process-oriented drawings were inspired by a framework of a psychedelic experience, constructing a climate for a boundless, unencumbered state as a primordial condition of being,” Robinson said of his work.

His mechanical technique aims to explore the expressive capacities of other abstracted elements of speech, such as the sounds of consonants and vowels.

“The mark-making is a physical manifestation of a fictional language illustrating glossolalia, that is, free association or speaking in tongues, with no sanction or filter over vocalization,” Robinson said.

This academic year, Robinson served as the Art Exhibition Association club president and offered technical support for the Dowd Gallery.

His work was awarded honorable mentions in Dowd Gallery’s annual Student Select exhibitions in 2020 and 2021. Selections of his art were part of the Best of SUNY 2022 exhibition in Albany, N.Y. Robinson is displaying pieces in SUNY Cortland’s Memorial Library until mid-May 2023.

Visit Dowd Gallery’s website for details about future exhibitions, other programs, safety protocols and online booking. For more information, to inquire about an appointment, tour or to see additional images, contact Gallery Director Jaroslava Prihodova at 607-753-4216.

Corey Union is always a hum of activity when school is in session. At the heart of that well-oiled process sits, patiently and kindly, Mavis Lefever.

When a Cortaca Jug football game ticket or Cortaca fan bus ticket is sold, Lefever, the office manager of Campus Activities and Corey Union, is usually the one selling it, even on game day.

When scheduling a major, multi-speaker event like the annual Diversity Conference, who does everyone call? Mavis Lefever. She lines up rooms and timeslots and handles grant documentation.

When entertainers are brought to campus, Lefever plays an important role, having been Involved in bringing some 186 big name bands, musical performers and celebrities to SUNY Cortland, as documented by SUNY Cortland’s Musical Legacy Committee.

These are just a few examples, as Lefever manages many other core Student Affairs program administrative tasks.

“Mavis has a heart of gold and is the glue that keeps the Campus Activities program together,” said SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum. “She consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

So it’s fitting that Lefever was recognized on Dec. 2 with the prestigious 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service.

Additionally, Bitterbaum honored Edith Pennell, an administrative assistant 2 in the Division of Finance and Management, for receiving the honor in 2020. Pennell had accepted the award and plaque on Dec. 14, 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to cancel an in-person award presentation.

The award was created in 2002 to annually recognize one SUNY Cortland full-time classified service employee “for extraordinary achievement and to encourage the continuation of excellence.” Nominees must have at least three years of continuous service. Supervisors, co-workers or other university community members nominate workers considered for this honor.

The President’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service traditionally is presented at the annual Service Awards Ceremony, a 52-year-old event for classified employees with a holiday luncheon sponsored by the Human Resources Office in Corey Union.

At this year’s event, Bitterbaum will present Lefever with a plaque to acknowledge her outstanding service to the university.

Lefever joined SUNY Cortland in 1981 and has remained in the same office in Corey Union for 41 years and five months. Mavis has worked here through seven different United States presidents; four department name changes; and has worked for five different directors.

A lifelong resident of Cortland County, she graduated from Homer High School in 1979 and then earned a degree in secretarial science at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

“She is always there for the student leaders and they all love her,” said Kevin Pristash, Lefever’s supervisor and director of Campus Activities and Corey Union, in a letter filled with endorsements by nine other professionals and staff whose work Lefever diligently supports.

“She is a font of knowledge about the campus and has a plethora of information, which she is always willing to share,” said Pristash about the more than 40-year Division of Student Affairs employee.

“She often knows what I need and has it ready before I even ask,” said Mary Kate Morris, associate director of Leadership and Community Development. “She thinks ahead and ensures that we are all set up for success. It makes our jobs much easier and makes SUNY Cortland a better place for our students. She clearly cares about her job and the people she serves.”

Lefever is punctual, dedicated and an asset to the SUNY Cortland community, wrote colleague Katrina Hodge, assistant director of Multicultural Life and Diversity. When Lefever is not supporting inclusion programming for students, she has helped students involved with the Voice Office coordinate their room assignments for the semester.

“All of this is done with a positive attitude,” Hodge wrote. “Mavis is a role model of what I strive to be.”

“I don’t know where we would be without her,” wrote Sandra Wohlleber, associate director of Campus Activities and Greek Affairs. She cited Lefever’s handling of the perennial avalanche of room reservation requests; the myriad administrative matters that arise, especially related to visiting performers through the Campus Artists and Lecture Series; and her general handling of questions as a consummate customer service professional.

“During the last Family Weekend, Lefever’s name came up in the conversation,” Wohlleber said. “A student’s mom had nothing but positive things to say, admitting she had been calling at least once for several days in a row with multiple questions. She thought Mavis should receive ‘sainthood’ for her patience.”

“She has held the office work together, largely by herself, since Fall 2017,” Pristash wrote. “Mavis has seen it all, so she is adept at being able to assist our community as needed.”

Employees Honored for Years of Service

As is customary this time of year, 28 classified staff and Research Foundation employees who met milestone years of service with SUNY Cortland were recognized for their dedication and commitment. The 2022 Service Awards Awardees, including personnel who retired in 2022 as noted with an asterisk, are:

40 YEARS

Deborah Dintino, Political Science

35 YEARS

Melony Warwick, Institutional Advancement

30 YEARS

Penny Bushaw, Stores/Mail/Physical Education

Daphne Guy, Custodial Services

Suzanne Pettitt, School of Arts and Sciences

25 YEARS

Thomas Hingher, Central Heating Plant

Tamara Magee, Custodial Services

20 YEARS

Ryan Caughey, Custodial Services

Barbara Field, Custodial Services

Joan Root, Custodial Services

Elizabeth Scott, Parking Department

Meghan Van Deuson, School of Arts and Sciences

15 YEARS

*Linda Crompton, Purchasing Office

Maryalice Griffin, Communication and Media Studies

Douglas Hyde, University Police Department

Rhonda McLaughlin, Budget Office

Steven Mize, Maintenance

Debra Powers, Library

Lynn Stevens, Maintenance

Kelley Wooldridge, Child Care Center (Research Foundation)

10 YEARS

Michael Amsden, Facilities Operations and Services

Chelsea Bledsoe, President’s Office

Jason Gleason, Maintenance

Abigail Jenney, Child Care Center (Research Foundation)

Christopher MacNabb, Facilities

Courtney Mantey, School of Education

Derek Noffey, Heating Plant

Jessica Park, Facilities

Diane Purvis, Facilities

Sydney Jennison ’20 of Homer, N.Y., grew up seeing firsthand what helping her community meant.  

A daughter of Robert Jennison, a captain in the City of Cortland Fire Department, and Sandra Jennison ’96, a teacher at Appleby Elementary School in Marathon, N.Y., Jennison watched as her parents exemplified selflessness.  

So, when it was time to choose her own career, Sydney Jennison took the next logical step: why not do both? 

It’s a decision requiring an above-average work ethic and a seemingly endless amount of energy, but it’s all in a day’s work for the recent Red Dragon alum. 

Jennison is now a physical education teacher at Appleby Elementary School, alongside her mom, while balancing a second life at the Marathon Volunteer Fire Department. She’s volunteered there since she was 16.  

“When you love something, you find time for it,” Jennison said. “I never wanted to choose between careers, and it is so nice that I don’t have to. I get to be a volunteer firefighter and teach and coach! I wish I could make more activities for the fire department like training and meetings, but I try my best to make the things that I can and that my schedule allows.” 

In both jobs, Jennison credits children with being a major inspiration that keeps her going despite the hectic schedule. 

“The best part about the school day is the kids,” Jennison said. “I love playing with them and making physical activity as fun as possible so that they are active for the rest of their lives. … I get to show young girls that they can become firefighters, too. Less than five percent of firefighters are females. If someone doesn’t show them that girls can be firefighters, too, then they will never know.” 

She even had a recent opportunity to bring her two jobs together. During a lesson on fire safety, her students visited the local fire station and they got to see Jennison wear her firefighter gear. 

That may sound exhausting, but it’s only part of Jennison’s day. As any teacher knows, talking in front of a whiteboard is only a small part of the job. A member of the golf team while at SUNY Cortland, Jennison now takes time to coach modified girls’ soccer and boys’ varsity golf, oversees the scoreboard during basketball and wrestling competitions and learned to drive a bus to transport her teams.  

And that’s all while she acts as a morning club advisor, archery club adviser and recently received emergency medical technician certification for the Marathon Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps. It’s a lengthy list of responsibilities, but it suits Jennison just fine. 

“If you had asked me in high school what my dream job was, my answer would have been to be a P.E. teacher and coach soccer and golf and that is exactly what I am doing,” she said. “I truly have the best job.” 

It doesn’t hurt that Jennison’s family has a long history of ties to Cortland. Sandra also graduated from SUNY Cortland with a teaching degree, going on to teach Sydney at Appleby Elementary. Jennison’s great-grandmother, Christine Dennison, was also a teacher who preceded them both as a Cortland Normal School grad. Now a family tradition of using a Cortland education to enrich the Central New York Community is being continued. 

“I find it extremely satisfying to help the kids from my hometown,” Jennison said. “I had great teachers and coaches and now I have that opportunity to give back just like my teachers did for me.” 

SUNY Cortland recently filled two critical leadership roles in the university’s administration:

• Jennifer Martin Tse of Baldwinsville, N.Y., was hired as registrar. She will direct Student Registration and Record Services (SRRS), starting on Jan. 5. She has been registrar at SUNY Upstate Medical University since 2000.
• Daniela Baban Hurrle was appointed director of International Programs, effective Nov. 24. She had been serving as SUNY Cortland’s associate director for international student and scholar services.

Martin Tse has more than 25 years of higher education administration and leadership experience as the primary custodian for student academic records, and has supervised institutional compliance with university, SUNY, state and federal policies. Her work in SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Office of the Registrar extends back to 1996, when she took the role of assistant registrar, and then served as associate registrar from 1998 to 2000.

Her additional higher education experience includes serving as the undergraduate coordinator of the University of California San Diego’s Cognitive Science Department and as assistant director of college housing at Upstate Medical University.

Martin Tse received a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University and a Bachelors of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, in psychology, with a minor in sociology. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership from Le Moyne College.

At Cortland, Martin Tse will lead the operations of the office, working with SRRS staff to coordinate services, systems and initiatives; ensure data integrity and reporting; manage SRRS budgets and vendor contracts; assess services and processes; and support professional development.

Baban Hurrle brings to the position 17 years of professional experience in the field of international education, the last 10 of which have been in SUNY Cortland’s International Programs Office. In her recent role, she supported the university’s international student and scholar population, using her expertise in federal immigration regulations, cultural adjustment and student success strategies. She has managed many of SUNY Cortland’s international academic partnerships, including 18 inbound student exchange and study abroad programs.

Before coming to SUNY Cortland, Baban Hurrle served as an international student and scholar advisor at Syracuse University and held positions in international student affairs at Buffalo State College and in Gannon University residential services. She has received the Clark Center Internationalization Award and the SGA Award for Outstanding Club Advisor. Baban Hurrle was inducted into the Phi Beta Delta honor society for international scholars and the Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Society, Inc. She is fluent in Romanian and Russian.

Baban Hurrle earned a B.A. in criminal justice and political science, with a minor in Russian studies, from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She holds an M.A. in public administration from Gannon University; a graduate certificate in human resources management from Gannon; and an advanced graduate certificate in immigration law studies from CUNY.

As director of the International Programs Office, Baban Hurrle will lead global partnership strategy and development, risk assessment and management, student and faculty mobility programs, inbound student and scholar services and other global learning initiatives.

Both Baban Hurrle and Martin Tse will work within the Division of Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Provost, reporting to Assistant Vice Provost Mary Schlarb.

Dear campus community,

The State University of New York Board of Trustees have announced the appointment of John B. King Jr. as the 15th chancellor of SUNY.

I believe Chancellor King will be an excellent leader in continuing SUNY’s mission of providing an affordable, quality education to all. Chancellor King has decades of experience in expanding equity and access to education and will bring a fresh perspective to the connected mission of SUNY’s 64 campuses. I am excited to see Chancellor King’s plans for SUNY and I look forward to working with him in the future.

A press release on King’s hire from SUNY system is available online.

All the best,

Erik J. Bitterbaum

President

Dear campus community,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Ann McClellan has been named SUNY Cortland’s next provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. She will begin in May 2023.

I believe that Ann will bring tremendous energy and expertise to the university’s Division of Academic Affairs. Please join me in welcoming Provost McClellan to SUNY Cortland.

Ann comes to us from Plymouth (N.H.) State University, where she has most recently served as interim provost and vice president of academic affairs. She had previously been associate provost and a professor of 20th century British literature at Plymouth State.

After earning a master’s and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Cincinnati, Ann began her teaching career at Eureka College. Her scholarly background is in British literature and culture, fan studies and Sherlock Holmes and she is the author of books including Sherlock’s World: Fanfiction and the Reimagining of BBC’s Sherlock and How British Women Writers Transformed the Campus Novel. Ann was recognized by Plymouth State with awards for Distinguished Academic Advising, Distinguished Scholarship and Excellence in Faculty Service and has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Advanced Digital Humanities Institute, the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation and Sisters in Crime.

I would like to thank Provost Mark Prus for his many years of service to the university and for his willingness to remain on in his role throughout this search. My appreciation also goes out to the members of the search committee and to those who attended open meetings and provided valuable feedback.

All the best,

Erik J. Bitterbaum

President

Campus Artist and Lecture Series (CALS) Lecture Grant Applications are now available for the 2022-23 academic year.

Applications are available online and are eligible for a maximum of $350 and are open to any club, program or department.

These lecture grants will not cover performances of any kind.

Applications must be received by Tuesday, Jan. 31 to be considered for February, March, April and/or May 2023 lecture programs.

Applications received after Jan. 31 may not be eligible for any spring semester funds remaining.

For more information and to download this application, visit the CALS website, email Sandra Wohlleber or call 607-753-5769.

SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services (CAS) is now accepting Program Grant applications for the 2023-24 academic year.

Applications are submitted online and must be sent by midnight on Friday, Feb. 17. Applicants are asked to read the grant guidelines carefully before submitting an application.

Each year the CAS Board of Directors allocates funds to support grants for a wide range of purposes and projects that enhance the life of the SUNY Cortland community.

Although CAS is willing to consider a wide range of ideas, it seeks to avoid duplicating other funding sources or funding projects more properly supported by state funds. Therefore, applicants should first seek funding from primary funding sources.

CAS grant funds may not be used for salaries, honoraria, travel normally funded by the university’s budget, or scholarships for SUNY Cortland faculty, staff or students. Funds may not be used to purchase computers, related hardware or software. All purchases will be processed in accordance with CAS’s financial and related GAAP policies. In general, Program Grant funds may not be used exclusively for food for SUNY Cortland students, faculty or staff. Funding for food may be considered if the food is deemed integral to the success of the program or event. All food shall be provided by CAS. Other grant guidelines are described in the application package and online.

For more information or assistance, email Judy Standish or call her at 607-753-4325.